The Commercial Mobile Alert System (CMAS), also known as Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA), is an alerting network designed to send emergency alerts to mobile devices within the coverage of a cellular base station (BS). In such systems various agencies may send alerts through participating wireless providers to customers using cellular networks. Various types of alerts may include alerts by the president, alerts involving threats to safety of life and Amber alerts, among others. In this way, important public safety announcements may be delivered through a cellular broadcast to devices capable of handling such messages.
However, while such announcements are generally broadcast to mobile devices in and around a disaster area or area affected by the alert, there is currently no way to detect the location of mobile device users. Further, the use of such system is not helpful in rescue operations in the event of a disaster.